This invention relates to broadcasting of data and more particularly to broadcasting data to a defined group of remotely located recipients.
Satellite radio networks may be utilized to provide satellite digital audio services to compatible radio receivers. In a satellite radio network, the same data is typically simultaneously transmitted to all receivers in the network so that all receivers receive the same broadcast data. The general broadcast character of satellite radio transmissions hinders the easy transmission of data that is intended only for a segment of the receivers especially when the amount of data to be transmitted is large.
Many of today's satellite radio receivers are being installed in automobiles and other vehicles. Because of the increasing number of vehicles with satellite radio receivers, automobile manufactures are being presented with a potentially useful way of providing information to users of their vehicles. For example, to the automobile manufacturers, it may be extremely desirable to deliver service and/or recall information to their vehicles' users via satellite radio.
Most service and recall information, however, is directed at a particular make and model of vehicle and rarely applies to all vehicles having a satellite radio receiver (let alone all vehicles of a particular manufacturer). Unfortunately, the difficulty in delivering information to a targeted segment of satellite radio receivers provides a difficult challenge in providing such service and/or recall information to a targeted segment of recipient vehicles.
In addition, today's satellite radio networks fail to provide a means for permitting changing or updating of the group of intended recipients. For example, once a vehicle has been repaired after receiving a service or recall notification via satellite radio, the vehicle may no longer be an intended recipient to a subsequent reminder message directed to those vehicles that have not yet been serviced. Receiving such a reminder message could lead to annoying or confusing users of an already serviced vehicle.